Writing in this space or one like it since 2001, usually with an F in the middle.

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Six Years, Six Questions

So the other day I Googled my full name and my full first name just to see what came up. One of the things that did was some stupid Web meme I’d done here on the blog. But it seemed interesting to me to answer those questions again seven years later. Here goes, with extant content in italics if it doesn’t change..

0) What’s your name and website URL? (optional, of course)

Well, my full name is Geoffrey Franklin Morris. I have many URLs, but I guess I prefer linking to GFMorris.net the most these days. That has varied over the years.

Without a doubt, it’s putting managing the build of unpressurized flight support equipment for on-orbit replacement units on the International Space Station. When stuff breaks on-orbit and the astronauts have to go outside to make a fix, the chances are (>80%) that it’s something that my company built, and of that hardware, it’s about 50-50 that I managed the job.

2) A. Name one thing you did in the past that you no longer do but wish you did? (one sentence max)

I wish that I wrote here far more often, but the stuff that I want to write about these days shouldn’t be publicly available (but it will be in the future).

B. Name one thing you’ve always wanted to do but keep putting it off? (one sentence max)

Become a hobbyist computer programmer: I have all the good intentions and the O’Reilly texts to match and none of the output.

3) A. What two things would you most like to learn or be better at, and why? (two sentences max)

I’d like to be better at being fully cognizant of what I’m doing and what I should be doing, which are only occasionally the same thing.

B. If you could take a class/workshop/apprentice from anyone in the world living or dead, who would it be and what would you hope to learn? (two more sentences, max)

This is an easy question: I would dearly love to have been an apprentice rocket scientist under Wernher von Braun. I can learn all the management stuff, personal and professional, from just about anyone, but in terms of designing rockets? I’ll put WvB up against anyone, warts and all.

4) A. What three words might your best friends or family use to describe you?

I think that they’d say that I’m loving, passionate, and giving.

B. Now list two more words you wish described you…

Tall and athletic.

5) What are your top three passions? (can be current or past, work, hobbies, or causes– three sentences max)

6) (sue me) Write–and answer–one more question that YOU would ask someone (with answer in three sentences max)

What is your worst habit, and what do you believe is the underlying cause of that habit? How can you best eliminate it?

I didn’t answer this then, but the answer is somewhat the same: it would have been “procrastination” six years ago, and this time it’s “the failure to start”, which is somewhat the same thing but not completely. One of the reasons that I can be bad about procrastination is because I haven’t broken the work down into small enough pieces. If I’m stuck with a project, I often break it down into smaller chunks that I can do with 20-minute efforts. When I do that, I’m successful.

[Bonus: What is one question you wish people would ask themselves?]

What are your good qualities? Do you define yourself by external things (work, family, home, church, car, etc.) or do you focus on your inherent qualities that will be true regardless of season?